Dairon Blanco made history a few nights ago after stealing three bases in the Omaha Storm Chasers 8-5 win over the Indianapolis Indians. The speedster now owns the team’s single season record with 47 stolen bases. This season in the minors with the Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA) he is hitting .347, has gone yard three times, knocked in 19 runs and has an OBP of .444.
Blanco who was having a whale of a year in the minors with the Kansas City Royals, yet the 30 year old outfielder was languishing on the farm until today. The team made room for the outfielder on the 49 man roster by releasing Jack Bradley Jr. The Cuban debuted in the big leagues last year on May 20th with the Royals hit .286 with RBIs in five games before inexplicably being designated for assignment on June 3rd by the ball club.
Fuentes: El jardinero camagüeyano Dairon Blanco será subido y abrirá en los jardines hoy para los @Royals .#pelotacubana #WelcomeToTheCity pic.twitter.com/GsDbeqS9Pm
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) June 12, 2023
This offseason he was a dominant force in the Puerto Rican Winter League with Ponce hitting .301 and leading the circuit in stolen bases with 25, he was also a key cog in the Dominican Winter League where he led the Tigres del Licey to a championship as reinforcement. The native of Camagüey, Cuba collected eight hits, drove in three runs, stole four bases and slashed .500/.526/.563/1.089 during the 2023 LIDOM championship series.
Blanco had this to say when I spoke to him to days ago about not being called in spite of his performance, ” I am having a great season, probably the best of my pro career and things going well right now. Regarding the Major Leagues, right now I don’t think about that. I am just trying to stay healthy and just focus on the task at hand. If I do that I know things are going to get better. Whether it’s this month or the other, I know I’ll get there, because I’ve sacrificed a lot. But at this moment my focus is to continue performing so that when the opportunity arises and the moment arrives, I can make the most of it and give it my best.”